A warm body with above average intelligence

Yep, that's me in a nutshell according to my supervisor, Deven, at my new job.

Yes, you read that correctly. I have a new job.

Some of you have heard about it, most of you are probably in the dark. (Sorry!)

I am now an employee of Delta Air Lines! I am a CSA (Customer Service Agent) working at the ticket counter at DIA (Denver International Airport.) The airline industry REALLY likes acronyms.

Ok, so here's the long, drawn out story because you will be asking questions if I don't say it all.

Lots of people in Reunion work for the airlines. We live about 13 minutes from DIA so its an easy commute. Several moms I know work for airlines. So I decided on Oct 17 to look for any openings at any airline. It was late at night and I just started going to websites and applying for any available part-time work. Now, I wasn't really ready to go to work part-time, I just figured your app sat in their database for months on end and maybe my name would come up in 6 months or a year or something. And maybe at that time our lives would be at a place that I could leave for a bit each week.

ANYWAYS, on Fri, Nov 2, I got a message on my voicemail from Delta saying they wanted to interview me for a position. I called her back, with little hope that this would work for us. Mary and I chatted a bit on the phone and hit it off. She said they were looking at me for their "Ready Reserve" position. What? I had NO idea what that was. I was completely embarrassed when I asked what that position was. She explained that is was an on-call position that worked "below part-time status" to fill in holes in the schedule. They sent out the schedule a month in advance and we would choose which shifts we wanted to work. Hmmm. The minimum requirement was 8 hours a week and the max was 3 days a week. Hmmm. Oh, and she was sad to inform me that they don't offer full benefits for this position, but full flight benefits were included. Excuse me? Yes, 30 flight days for me, John, McKenna, Brooklyn, Josiah, my mom AND my dad. Hello?! Crazy! I could go in for an interview Sat (the next day) or Tuesday. I opted for Tuesday.

So, I went in on the 7th and had a great time. It was fun to dress up and have someone care about the skills I have other than changing diapers and making dinner. I felt really good about the interview and even better about the job.

I heard nothing for a couple weeks, then out of the blue Mary called and said I was in the next level of interviewing. I went in for a PAT (physical agility test) on the 20th. Whew, I passed. :) Then, I went in for fingerprinting on the 23rd.

Feeling good.

Then nothing. For a long time.

Finally, on Fri, Dec 14 I get a call saying they want to extend a job offer. Whoo-hoo! Orientation is Sat Dec 15 or Tues the 18th. I opted for the 18th. Went in for 5 hours of orientation. At that time, they politely informed us that they needed "warm bodies" during the holiday rush and that we had 13 hours of computer training to do before we could work the following week. Gee, thanks.

Well, since I am "above average intelligence" I was able to get through the training in about 9 hours. I worked my first shift on Dec 24. Yep, I signed up for the early morning shift: 4:00 am-12:30 pm.

It was great. I got up at 2:45 (IN THE MORNING!) and my coffee was brewing as I came down the stairs. I had a lovely cup of coffee while sitting in front of the fire. I was able to drink the whole thing without distraction or having to microwave it 2 times. Then I got ready, without distraction, and headed out the door at 3:20. It was GORGEOUS out. Crystal clear skies. Sparkling stars. The air was crisp and clean. The airport was all lit up and beautiful.

I had a great time. I didn't know how to do a thing! My main responsibilites will be
1. Working the lobby. i.e. directing traffic and encouraging people to use the kiosk
2. Working the kiosk. Helping people read the monitor and push a button.
3. Checking id's and tagging bags.

That's it! Its fun and great to meet new people.

So, I'll be doing this 8 hours a week, typically on Monday mornings. Our flight benefits kick in at the end of the month and then we can attempt to travel standby. (Are you so bored already?)

Ok, so that's my scoop on my new job at Delta.